Up to 1.5 GWh of green electricity per year will be produced by photovoltaic power plants that will be built on the roofs of ČEZ’s office buildings or in adjacent premises over the next two years. In the first phase, the company plans to install approximately 3,700 panels with a total output of up to 1.6 MW. ČEZ ESCO will be the supplier, owner and operator of the photovoltaics. The electricity from their own generation facilities that the offices cannot consume is shared with other buildings through ČEZ ESCO. ČEZ ESCO has also been providing certified electricity from renewable and nuclear sources for ČEZ office buildings since this January. This represents a saving of up to 7,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. ČEZ is thus setting an example for other companies in decarbonising its buildings.
“ČEZ plans to commission thousands of megawatts of renewable energy by 2030 as part of its Clean Energy of Tomorrow strategy. Large photovoltaic parks will contribute the most to the decarbonisation of ČEZ’s portfolio from renewable sources, but rooftop photovoltaics, which we supply to thousands of Czech households and companies, will also play an irreplaceable role. So, it makes sense that we ourselves should proactively reduce electricity consumption in our office buildings by using clean energy from the sun. The installation of photovoltaics is part of our cost-saving plans, where we want to reduce the consumption of office operations by 30 percent by 2027 compared to 2018,” said Michaela Chaloupková, member of the Board of Directors and Director of the Administration Division.
A total of 12 buildings and two adjacent sites have been included in the first stage of the project, which is scheduled to run until the end of 2025. Their occupancy and method of use, electricity consumption, the condition of the roof and the general condition of a building, in particular, were taken into account. Detailed design work will now take place, followed by actual construction. In parallel with the implementation of the first stage, ČEZ will examine another twenty buildings owned by the company to see if they can also be used for photovoltaics. Up to 32 projects could therefore be put into operation.
Currently, ČEZ has photovoltaics on three of its office buildings in the Czech Republic: in Mladá Boleslav, Louny and Benešov. Operational experience from 2023 shows that the buildings have reduced electricity consumption by 20% on average thanks to solar energy. ČEZ expects similar results from the current large construction project.
ČEZ invests an average of CZK 50 m annually in reducing the energy consumption of buildings: this mainly includes the insulation of buildings, replacement of windows, more modern metering and control systems, installation of more efficient lighting, and even replacement of office electrical appliances (refrigerators, coffee machines) with less energy-consuming ones.